Morale

“We are not amused.”

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-01-09/Great Ways to Decrease MoraleFollowing the suggestions in this list is sure to decrease morale in your workplace. To see a major drop in morale try to combine a few of these into the same action. You’ll know you’re doing it right when you start writing people up for insubordination or see a large increase in your employee turn-over rate.http://distortedcerebration.net/2009/01/great-ways-to-decrease-morale/Boosting MoralePsychological, sociological and economic research has also shown that having happy, healthy and engaged workers is also good for a company’s bottom line. (Visit the APA Practice Organization’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program website for a database of research on the topic.) The Gallup study reports that among the least happy and least engaged employees — those with the lowest well-being scores — the annual per-person cost of lost productivity due to sick days is upward of $28,000. The sick-day lost-productivity cost among the happiest and most engaged workers: $840 a year.http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/12/morale.aspxWorkplace Rudeness on the RisePearson found job performance affected in a variety of ways. The targets of incivility:1. Spent time worrying about the uncivil incident or future interactions with the instigator and wasted time trying to avoid the instigator. 2. Deliberately become less committed. 3. Did not involve themselves in tasks outside their job specifications and expended less effort to meet responsibilities. 4. Were less willing to help others and reduced their contributions to the organization.And if the foregoing were not unsettling enough, adds Pearson, in nearly one-half of the cases the targets were unhappy enough to consider changing jobs, and in 12 percent of the cases they actually quit.…What can managers do to ensure a civil work environment? Once you determine your approach is not contributing to the problem, Pearson advises that you:1. Set expectations for how the workplace will operate and what behaviors will be tolerated. 2. Define and communicate expectations. Make sure employees have a shared concept of “respect.” 3. Hold employees accountable for any transgressions.This last step is most important, Pearson states. “When somebody crosses that line, you must react. Once you have drawn the line in the sand you must commit to this or no real progress will be achieved.”http://hr.od.nih.gov/hrguidance/civil/rudeness.htm